A portrait of the world’s greatest city (a companion to thetokyofiles.com)

the absence of house is the essence of house (Hyperart Thomassons)

“the absence of house is the essence of house”

An empty lot, formerly occupied by a house. Location: Imizu-shi, Toyama-ken, Japan. An example of a ‘Tomason’ トマソン, or ‘Thomasson‘ (or Hyperart Thomassons), which is a metaphor for certain types of observable elements in the built environment of a city. The term was coined by Genpei Akasegawa 赤瀬川原平, and was named after Gary Thomasson, a baseball player in Japan, known for his expensive contract and propensity to strike-out. Akasegawa described this phenomenon as “more like art particles, released after the meltdown of Art”.

Types of Thomassons included the “A-bomb type” and the “Abe Sada type”, named for a woman who chopped off the penis of her lover (this type was used to describe the stumps of telephone poles).